Business Sense: Volunteering makes good business sense

We've all heard the old adage: "It's better to give than to receive." While that still holds true, as a small business owner, when you volunteer your time to others, it will benefit you as much as those you help.

A small business owner once told me, "I recommend that anybody with a small business volunteer. Don't look at it as a chore, but an opportunity."

The quality of your volunteer efforts often acts as a testimonial for the caliber of your business. When I was putting together a small business several years ago, I recognized that, in addition to the intangible benefits of helping others, performing public service often helps a small-business owner network informally with other volunteers, an essential part of doing business that is often overlooked by those absorbed by their day-to-day concerns.

I strongly urge that small-business owners become involved in a cause that motivates them. Examples of this are plentiful here in our community. Take a look at local nonprofit board members. You can feel the passion they bring to the table. By taking on this volunteer role, these board members find that the most meaningful reward is the work itself. And you'll find that people in volunteer organizations are some of the finest people you'll ever meet. While serving on a nonprofit board, as a small business owner, you become a part of the movers and shakers in your community and you'll meet people you otherwise might not have met.

In my position as vice president of marketing at Coast Central Credit Union, I see examples of dedicated, passionate volunteers on a daily basis. My own volunteerism career began many years ago when I started working with the local Easter Seals Society. Why? Because I really believed that local men, women and children who had physical disabilities could lead more productive lives with a bit of positive assistance from local volunteers. I saw firsthand the difference that a group of volunteers can make in people's lives.

I'm still touched by a young girl who happened to be in a wheelchair. She appeared on a local telethon I was hosting. She vowed to come back the next year, get out of her chair and dance with me. The next year came and she made good on her promise. There was not one dry eye on the set. Was I rewarded? You bet!

Recently, at my local Rotary club, a local artist spoke about her volunteer passion: She's working very hard to make it possible for World War II veterans to fly back to Washington, D.C., on an "honor flight" to see memorials of their war days before they pass on. Has she been rewarded? You bet!

At our credit union, we currently have staff members who are passionate about the American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life." In fact, one staff member, Dona Latham, has stepped up to head up the entire local "relay" project. She has expended many hours toward a cause she feels very passionate about. I asked her why she picked this particular project. She said, "My small sacrifice of volunteering and taking time away from my family is well worth it in hopes that someday someone else will get one more day with theirs." Has she been rewarded? You bet!

According to a report called "Volunteering in America" compiled by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau for Labor Statistics, 63.4 million Americans volunteered through a formal organization last year, giving more than 8.1 billion hours of volunteer service worth an estimated $169 billion. This was the greatest spike in volunteers since 2003.

Today's a great day to ask yourself, "Where could my volunteer efforts make a difference?"

Erma Bombeck painted a bleak picture of a world without volunteers:

"I had a dream the other night that every volunteer in this land had set sail for another country. I stood smiling on the pier, shouting, 'Good-bye, phone committees. Good-bye disease-of-the month. No more getting out the vote. No more playground duty, bake sales, rummage sales, thrift shops, and three-hour meetings.'

"As the boat got smaller, I reflected, 'Serves them right, that bunch of yes people. All they had to do was to put their tongues firmly against the roofs of their mouths and make an "O" sound -- no. It would certainly have spared them a lot of grief. Oh, well, who needs them?'

"The hospital was quiet as I passed it. The reception desk was vacant. Rooms were devoid of books, flowers, and voices. The children's wing held no clowns, no laughter. The home for the aged was like a tomb. The blind listened for a voice that never came. The infirmed were imprisoned in wheelchairs that never moved. Food grew cold on trays that would never reach the hungry.

"The social agencies had closed their doors -- unable to implement their programs of scouting, recreation, drug control; unable to help the retarded, handicapped, lonely and abandoned. Health agencies had signs in their windows: 'Cures for cancer, birth defects, multiple sclerosis, heart diseases, etc., have been canceled because of lack of interest.'

"The schools were strangely quiet, with no field trips and no volunteer classroom aides. Symphony halls and the museums that had been built and stocked by volunteers were dark and would remain that way. The flowers in churches and synagogues withered and died. Children in day nurseries lifted their arms, but there was no one to hold them in love. Alcoholics cried out in despair, but no one answered. The poor had no recourse for health care or legal aid. I fought in my sleep to regain a glimpse of the ship of volunteers just one more time. It was to be my last glimpse of a decent civilization."

Among many other things, Dennis Hunter, vice president of marketing at Coast Central Credit Union, hosted the local Easter Seals Telethon for 30 years.